As we journey through Lent, our thoughts and hearts turn most frequently—and appropriately—to acts of penance and remembrance, daily reminders of the great mystery of faith: that Christ died, has risen, and will come again in glory.But have you ever thought about Lent as a time for thanksgiving?Neither had I, frankly. But I have the great privilege of working with Sr. Kathryn Hermes, who has introduced me to the works and thoughts of the Fathers of the Eastern Orthodox churches, and ...

On Christmas Eve, 1968, the spacecraft called Apollo 8 sent the first-ever image of our planet back to us: the first earthrise viewed by humanity. The astronauts on board Apollo 8 could have chosen to say anything in that moment of breathless wonder. What they did, instead, was read this aloud:In the beginning God created heaven and earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, with a divine wind sweeping over the waters. God said, 'Let there...

I don’t mean that question in the colloquial sense—as in, how are you today? This is a rather deeper question: as we move through the journey of Lent, how are you doing? Have you determined a Lenten practice—and kept practicing it?It’s a good idea to pause and take stock of where we are as we travel through Lent. Too often it’s tempting to simply put aside a practice or discipline that we haven’t been following consistently. “Oh, gosh, I didn’t do ...

Today Pauline Books and Media is releasing Catholic Funny Fill-ins, written by Karen and Tommy Tighe. Karen and Tommy are the proud parents of five boys. Tommy Tighe is co-host of the video program Repent & Submit airing on CatholicTV. (You can see past episodes here.)If you're looking for some fun for family road trips, get-togethers, youth group parties, or just a great evening at home, then Catholic Funny Fill-ins is for you! It helps you bring together both humor ...

To many people, the Mass seems very repetitive. Going to Mass every week (or every day, as I do), it can seem like the same thing every time, with only minor variations in the readings from Scripture and some of the prayers and hymns.But while it is true that the things we do and say are the same, the graces of each Mass are unique and unrepeatable because they are for us at that particular moment. There are “never before, never again” graces available at every Eucharistic celebratio...

Being a film reviewer, it’s thrilling to see Hollywood come out with more films by and about women, such as the Oscar-winning Roma, Leave No Trace, The Hate U Give, and Captain Marvel. I also come into contact with many amazing women storytellers in the film industry, those who seek to bring about change and truly a better world for all. So many recent and not-so-recent films present women characters that lead efforts to promote peace, end war, and pioneer nonviolence as a solution to conf...

40 days. 40 years. These numbers appear often in the sacred text, and they remind us immediately, of course, of Lent—which starts tomorrow!At the beginning of Lent we think of Israel’s 40-year journey in the desert and Jesus’ 40-day fast in the desert. In both of these desert treks, there were temptations.The Israelites often asked Moses why he had brought them out to the desert to die. Why couldn’t they go back to their slavery under the Egyptians, they asked, where at l...

In my late thirties, I was sitting in my office, the entire building penetrated by an eerie silence. It was the day after 911 and the skies were silent. Uncertainty cloaked the country as the march toward war began.I felt so small, so really all alone, there in my small corner office writing a newsletter and working on a website.Tragedy and uncertainty can isolate us from others. We might lose perspective as larger-than-life problems take over our awareness. The present darkness may seem too big...

Imagine this scene. There is a blackout in the city. A young couple has planned a romantic and elaborate Valentine’s Day evening together—dinner at an expensive restaurant, excellent tickets for a popular show, expensive gifts for each other.But now the blackout. No dinner. No show. No way to drop by the jeweler’s to pick up the gifts. Just the two of them in their dark apartment.It would be easy to call the evening ruined, wouldn’t it? But let’s look more closely a...

“It is the business of the artist to uncover the strangeness of truth.”Flannery O’Connor It’s often said that truth is stranger than fiction. Nobody is more familiar with this reality than Fr. Damian Ference, who, as a priest, is often witness to life’s most dramatic and mysterious events. In his new book, The Strangeness of Truth, meditations on the incarnation and resurrection are presented alongside scenes from his own life: a midnight call to the ICU t...